Distance
by Vanderhorst
Summary: Gravity could not make her fall harder than when Carmilla said her name. AU. Carmilla's still a vampire. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1--Orange Juice

CHAPTER 1

If anyone asked Laura what Carmilla liked, the first thing she'd say is, "She loves music!"

And it couldn't be truer. Carmilla listened to music while, eating, driving, sleeping, bathing, reading… She played her instruments in the mornings, on weekdays, holidays… Even at three a.m. on Tuesdays.

Like now.

_Some of us have work tomorrow, you know._

Laura squinted at her phone and waited for Carmilla to reply. Minutes passed and the concert in the apartment across from hers continued. She was about to fall asleep again when the music stopped and she got a reply.

_Yeah, but not me, cupcake._

A new tune started and Laura refused to wait another six minutes for Carmilla to finish. She put on her slippers and walked out her apartment to the door across the hall. Now that she was closer, she noticed how angry the piano sounded. She waited for the song to end, and when it did, she tapped her knuckles on the door.

"Carmilla, it's me! Open up!"

"It's open."

When she stepped inside the small apartment, a new song started playing, and this time, Laura had to cover her ears. She made her way to Carmilla's bedroom, where she found her pounding furiously on her keyboard. It sounded like five pianos playing at once, and if it weren't giving her a headache, she would have stopped and admired it.

"Alright, that's enough." Laura grabbed Carmilla's wrists and stopped her from playing anymore. She turned Carmilla around in her chair. Carmilla wouldn't look at her, so she asked, "Are you trying to contact Beethoven's spirit?"

Carmilla shook her head and gave a half-smile. Laura's heart skipped a beat.

She finally looked up at Laura. "Just… got the urge to play, is all."

"That's all right and good but," Laura pointed to the wires connected from the keyboard to the amplifiers. "Amps? Really?"

Carmilla shrugged and bent down to pick up a wine glass from the floor. It was filled with orange juice.

Laura watched her sip on the drink with concern. Whenever Carmilla was feeling moodier than usual, she would drink from a wine glass. Laura could never understand why, and Carmilla never said.

"Carm… You okay?"

"Are _you _okay, cupcake?"

Laura sighed. It was gonna be one of those nights.

She sat on the bed and rolled Carmilla along with the chair. Carmilla went back to avoiding eye contact and watched the contents of her glass swish around. Laura took the glass from her. Carmilla didn't seem to notice. After a few moments, she slowly took the glass back from Laura's hand and Laura shivered.

Even after three years of friendship, Laura wasn't used to Carmilla initiating contact. Whenever Laura was going to touch her, she braced herself – warned every nerve ending of what was to happen, and when contact came, the shock wasn't so bad. But when it was Carmilla touching her, her heart wanted to tear through her chest. The skin that had been touched felt the endless possibilities of surprise kisses and confessions that could change everything.

Carmilla sipped on the juice some more.

"If something's up, you should tell me," said Laura. "I can help you."

"Did you know that the first victim of the Great Fire of London was a maidservant too afraid to jump to escape the fire?"

Laura frowned slightly. "Uh, yeah, I remember hearing something like that."

"Completely devoured… All because she was too cowardly…"

If there was any doubt in Laura's mind of Carmilla's odd mood, it was gone. She stared closer and saw Carmilla's eyes. They were smaller than usual, as if she wanted to close them but couldn't.

She hadn't realized just how hard she was staring until Carmilla looked up and chuckled.

"That bunched up little face you make is hilarious, buttercup."

Laura pulled back with a blush and a mumbled apology. Now, it was her turn to look down and Carmilla's to look at her.

Carmilla moved the glass a bit more. "Do you think the maidservant deserved to die for being so scared?"

"No. Nobody deserves to die, period. Besides, it must have been quite the distance to jump for her to even hesitate with the fire behind her."

"Quite the distance, huh?" Carmilla mumbled.

"Yeah. But I would have taken the jump."

Carmilla's head snapped up.

She breathed out and put the glass on the floor. Edging closer to her, she put a hand on Laura's cheek and rubbed it with her thumb.

There it was again. The dull thump of her heart as it tried to get out of her chest.

She felt drunk as Carmilla leaned in and kissed her. It was softer than she ever expected, but her body hummed all the same.

When Carmilla pulled back and let her hand fall from her face, Laura smiled. She wasn't sure if she should let the moment continue or confess it all to Carmilla right then and there.

"Laura…"

Gravity could not make her fall harder than when Carmilla said her name.

"… See you tomorrow."

Huh?

She couldn't process anything after that. Whether it was because of the kiss or Carmilla's sudden dismissal, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that one second she was on Carmilla's bed, and then the next, a door was slammed in her face.

She looked about the hallway. She felt disoriented and dizzy. Quietly, she made her way back to her apartment, and eventually, her bed. When she reached for her phone to check the time, she saw she got a new message.

_Sorry for waking you up, cutie. Sweet dreams._

Laura smiled and fell asleep with the cellphone near her chest.


	2. Chapter 2-- Coffee

CHAPTER 2

"I invited Danny, by the way."

Carmilla made a face of disgust as she poured sugar in her coffee. "Why?"

"She's going to explain some lessons," Laura shrugged. "I've got a big test coming up. She's my T.A. and I'll need all the help I can get."

Carmilla looked around the buzzing café, as if expecting Danny to pop up at random.

"But why on our café time? Our café time is ours."

Laura smiled. She didn't know Carmilla valued their time together so much. "We're neighbors, we see each other all the time. Just try not to growl at her."

"Tell that to the Eiffel Tower."

She laughed, and glanced at Carmilla as she stirred her coffee. She found herself wondering if Carmilla has licked her lips as much as she has since the kiss.

Carmilla was sitting to her right, and their shoulders were brushing. It was warm, so warm, and Laura closed her eyes to concentrate on it. She was so focused, she didn't notice the argument happening next to her.

"I told you to move it, Marilyn Manson. I have to sit next to Laura."

Laura opened her eyes and saw Danny standing over Carmilla.

"You don't have to sit anywhere, Mount Everest. Just sit across from us. I'm not getting up."

Danny rolled her eyes and said, "In case she didn't tell you, we're going to study and we're going to share a book. We can't be too far apart. Of course, it's not something you'd understand since you don't even go to college."

Carmilla narrowed her eyes and tightened her jaw. Laura could almost hear the barking before Carmilla could even open her mouth, so she put a hand on Carmilla's shoulder and held her back.

"Okay! Why don't I just sit in the middle?" Laura said, clapping her hands once.

Once they were all in place, Danny opened the book and started explaining the lesson.

Now that they were together on the same side, Carmilla's arm and leg were completely against Laura's.

She found her mind pulled in two different directions: Carmilla sulking to her right and Danny talking about modern interpretations of classic literature to her left. Sometimes, her right side would feel numb and her ears would pick up words like, "Voltaire" and "metaphors" and "Shakespeare wasn't as cool as everyone says, don't you think, Laura?" to which she would nod robotically.

Other times, she wouldn't hear a thing, and from her peripheral vision she'd see Carmilla scratch at the table and pick at her nails. Her hair was falling over her face. Laura got the urge to flip it to her other shoulder and see her profile clearly.

Either way, whether she was focusing on Carmilla or hearing Danny rant about how sexist the Picture of Dorian Gay was, her eyes kept going in and out of focus and she'd catch herself with her mouth hanging open far too often to not be embarrassed.

When they were done, they walked out of the café; Laura thanked Danny and promised to meet with her on campus later that afternoon.

She barely started waving goodbye at Danny when she noticed Carmilla was already walking away.

"Wait up," Laura ran to her and struggled to keep up with her fast pace. Carmilla kept staring ahead and acting as f she hadn't heard her. "What's up with you? You've been weird since yesterday."

"I'm not weird. You're just imagining things."

Laura was speed walking now, trying to stay by her side without bumping into other people.

"Is it because of Danny? Look, I'm sorry, but my grades –"

Laura crashed into Carmilla's back when she suddenly stopped walking. Carmilla turned and stared down at her angrily.

"It's not because of her."

Laura gulped. They were close. _Really _close. She could feel Carmilla's breath on her face. She could see the little hairs on her furrowed eyebrows. She was close enough to see the dark brown in her eyes. Her angry eyes. Her broody, sexy, angry eyes… Goddammit.

"Then, I don't understand," she squeaked. Her eyes widened as they fell on Carmilla's lips. Was it because of the kiss? Did she regret it?

The concern must have been evident on her face, because Carmilla's expression softened and she sighed. "I'm not angry at you, creampuff. Don't worry, I just…" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Forget it. Come on, I wanna go home."

She grabbed Laura's hand and led her through the crowd to their apartment without another word. When they reached their floor, Carmilla let go. They stood in front of their respective doors, backs to each other, taking their time as they looked for their keys.

"Hey," she heard Carmilla say. She turned around and saw Carmilla already in her apartment, the door wide open.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to be busy from now on and we probably won't be able to see each other for some time. My… My brother's gonna stay with me for a while starting tomorrow, and I have to help him settle in."

Laura blinked excessively before nodding and saying, "Oh! Oh, okay, then."

Carmilla gave her a small smile before closing the door.

It wasn't until she was in her own apartment that she thought back on what Carmilla had said and frowned.

"Wait… She has a brother?"


	3. Chapter 3--Smoothies

"I don't understand how spying on her will help anyone!" LaFontaine yelled over the whir of the blender.

"It'll help me figure out why she's been acting weird lately!" Laura yelled back. She continued staring at Carmilla's door from her window.

"But I doubt her brother's the cause of it!"

"What?!"

"I said I doubt her brother's the cause of her odd behavior!"

"What?!"

"Perry, turn off the blender!"

The noise stopped and Perry stuck her head out from the kitchen. "You wanted smoothies, I'm making smoothies. Don't complain."

She went back in and the blender started up again. LaFontaine closed their eyes and put their feet up on the couch. They opened their eyes when the blender was turned off again. Laura kept staring at the door from across the hall.

Perry walked out of the kitchen with a tray of smoothies. LaFontaine lifted their legs and placed them on Perry's lap when she sat down.

"Laura, come have your smoothie," said Perry.

"Can you please hand it to me? I can't miss Carmilla coming back from the airport with her brother."

"Eating while standing isn't good for digestion, you know."

Laura lifted one leg back and hooked her foot around the leg of a chair, dragged it towards her, and sat down.

As Perry got up to give Laura her smoothie, LaFontaine said, "I still can't believe she has a brother."

"Yeah, it's incredible how much and how little I know about her after three years," said Laura. "That's why I have to see him. What if she's acting like this because of him? What if it's not even her brother?"

"Everybody has their off days, Laura," said Perry as she went back to the couch.

"Maybe you're right and yesterday was her off day, but what about this morning when I was getting the mail? She said she was going to the airport and she sounded way too unhappy for it to be her own family."

"This is Carmilla we're talking about," said LaFontaine as they stirred their smoothie with the straw. "Maybe she's just angry she has to pick him up herself."

Laura hummed as she drank from her cup, and chewed on her straw. "But… She's been weird…"

"Laura…"

"She kissed me! She kissed me, okay? She kissed me… and she didn't say anything. It's as if it didn't happen." She didn't know where her voice went, because the next sentence came out choked. "She wouldn't just do that to me unless… something was wrong."

Perry and LaFontaine shared a worried look.

"Hey," LaFontaine said softly. "I'm sure she'll get over whatever she's going through and realize she's really into you."

"I don't think so," said Laura. "She doesn't make any advances, and the one time she does, she kicks me out of her apartment three seconds later."

"Didn't you say she looks at your boobs a lot?" asked LaFontaine, taking a sip of her drink.

"She does." She put a hand over her left breast, where the odd little bug bites were. "But I think she's mostly interested in my bug bites. She asks about them a lot when I scratch at them."

"Maybe she's got a bug fetish."

"LaFontaine."

"What, Perr? Bugs can be sexy too."

"Holy shit, there they are!"

Perry and LaFontaine looked at Laura before scrambling to get to the window.

The three of them peaked out, and sure enough, Carmilla was opening the door to her apartment while a young man stood looking around the hallway, a single backpack over his shoulder. They went inside, and Laura, Perry and LaFontaine stepped away from the window.

"What's the game plan, Commander Hollis?" asked LaFontaine.

"We get close to him. We figure out why he's here and if he's the reason Carmilla's upset."

"Cool. How do we do that?"

A determined look settled upon Laura's face as she walked to the kitchen. When she walked out, tray of cookies in her hands, she said, "Cookies."

A minute later found them knocking on Carmilla's door. As they waited, they heard muffled sounds and a sudden crash. A few seconds later, Carmilla's disheveled-looking brother opened the door.

He was taller than the three of them, and his grin was too wide to be natural.

"Hello," he said, a little too out of breath.

"Hi! You must be Carmilla's brother. I'm Laura, from across the hall. This is Perry and LaFontaine." She held the tray out. "I baked cookies as a welcome gift."

"So, you're Laura!" His smile grew impossibly wider. "I'm Will. Please, come in."

He stepped aside and they were able to see Carmilla, breathing heavily as she stood by the door to her room. Her posture was tense and open, like she was about to lunge forward. Her hair was messy; her eyes were wide and wild.

Laura couldn't help but feel she like she was staring at a trapped animal.


	4. Chapter 4--Blood

CHAPTER 4

Carmilla's glass coffee table had been accidentally shattered before Will opened the door. Honestly, Laura didn't know how the landlady hadn't kicked her out yet. It wasn't the first time she had broken something belonging to the apartment.

They moved to Carmilla's room, where they learned that Will was staying for his first semester at Silas University. Carmilla sat on the floor, tuning her guitars, while they asked Will questions about himself.

It was frustrating, to say the least. Will, like Carmilla, was a master at changing subjects and talking about anything but himself. So by the time they left, all they knew about Will was that he had been living in Texas with a friend named Kirsch before coming here together. He was also majoring in Human Relations.

Laura's heart felt as empty as the cookie tray she carried back to her apartment.

"So," started LaFontaine. "Got any nasty vibes from Will?"

Laura's chest deflated as she shook her head. "No, he seems normal. Heck, even Carmilla seemed less broody today. She was…" She trailed off, remembering the wild look Carmilla gave her before entering the apartment. The thought of how her eyes looked back then raised the hair on the back of her neck.

"Like I said, yesterday was her bad day," said Perry. Laura nodded. She didn't have the strength to talk.

Once Perry and LaFontaine, she sat down in the chair in front of the window. She had class in two hours, but she couldn't bother to get up.

"Come on, Hollis. You've played all the Phoenix Wright games, seen all of Veronica Mars, and read all the Nancy Drew books. Think, think, think…"

Tapping her head, she thought back on yesterday.

She knew for sure Carmilla was upset at three A.M. because she was drinking from a wine glass. She seemed distant at that time, and refused to look at Laura for a while. The odd talk with the maidservant not jumping; Carmilla was knowledgeable and cultured, but she wasn't one to bring something up unless asked. And then, the kiss.

Laura brought a hand to her mouth. Her fingertips were cold, unlike Carmilla's lips.

"See you tomorrow," she parodied Carmilla and scoffed. "How dare she…" After being friends with her for so long, Laura forgot how horribly rude Carmilla could be.

She was brought out of her mild frustration when Will came out of the apartment. Laura leaned forward and opened a gap through the curtains. He looked presentable now, and he carried his backpack in his arms as he walked towards the stairs.

Laura leaned back and sighed. Carmilla's brother was another mystery.

She sat there, running her earlier encounter with Will through her head, only for her attention to be brought back to the window when she noticed another person approaching Carmilla's door.

It was Mrs. Huang, the landlady. She hobbled to the door and knocked. Carmilla opened it immediately. She ushered Mrs. Huang inside and checked the hall before closing the door.

Laura didn't understand what was so secret about having your landlady knock on your door after breaking something in the apartment for the seventh time.

Unless they were having an affair.

Laura made a face and asked herself a big what the fuck.

No way. Impossible. Mrs. Huang was a sweet, elderly lady. She was too old to have anything with Carmilla. She shook her head and laughed at herself.

Unless Mrs. Huang was Carmilla's sugar mamma and that's why she lets Carmilla live there despite all the noise she makes and things she breaks.

Laura got up from the chair and told herself it was time to stop thinking about Carmilla and start getting ready for class at Silas.

# # #

It was six P.M. and Laura held the box of chocolate to her chest as she walked to the campus gates.

Danny glanced at the chocolates. "She doesn't deserve it." Danny said.

"Yes, she does. She's been having a bad time. I wanna cheer her up."

Danny hummed and looked up, the displeasure very clear on her face.

"Hey, Laura!"

They looked back and saw Will, and waited for him to catch up. When he was close, he pulled an envelope out of his backpack and handed it to Laura. "Can you give this letter to Carmilla when you see her?"

She flipped the envelope over in her hands, eyeing it and noticing it had nothing on it other than an odd, red wax seal.

"Sure, but can't you give it to her yourself?"

"We had a bit of a fight, so I'm staying with my buddy Kirsch for tonight." He pointed to the bus stop just outside the campus, where a tall guy was standing.

"You had a fight? But you just got here." Laura said with a laugh.

"It's nothing, siblings fight all the time. Especially when you've got Carmilla as a sister. Anyway, catch ya' later, Laura!"

They watched as he ran off and greeted his friend with a handshake and a chest bump.

"What do you think the letter's all about?" asked Danny. "Looks weird. I mean, who puts a wax seal on a letter anymore?"

"It's not our place to ask. But yeah, the seal is unnecessarily flashy."

When they reached the bus stop, Laura snapped her fingers and put a palm on her forehead.

"Oh, darn! I should've wrapped the chocolates or something!"

"It's too late now," said Danny. "Just give it to her like that. It's the thought that counts."

"No, I wanna do this right." She looked down the street, knowing a convenience store was nearby. She checked her watch: it was 6:32.

"This is the last bus for our route."

Laura was already walking away. "I'll take a taxi home."

"Want me to come with you?"

"No, you've got papers to grade." She was pretty far now, so she raised her voice. "Bye, Danny! Get home safe!"

"You too, Hollis!"

She almost skipped to the convenience store. On her way, she rehearsed how she would give Carmilla her gift. She got tot eh store and headed to the aisle where the gift bags, wrapping paper and gift cards were.

She looked at the cards and wondered if she should get one too. She took out her money and stared miserably at the ten dollars in her hand. If she bought a card and gift bag, she wouldn't have enough for a taxi.

But it would be all right. She could walk home. She didn't like walking out at night alone, but she knew Krav Maga, so she wasn't that worried.

She picked out a red, floral gift bag. Then, she looked at the cards.

There were too many romance themed gift cards. She tried looking for one that was more platonic, but she couldn't find any. However, there was one in particular she really liked. It was one of a cartoon boy giving a cartoon girl chocolate. There was a big heart between them, and the words 'I Love You' in the middle. She blushed at the idea of giving Carmilla that card.

They have given each other valentine's gifts over the years, but this would be the first time she'd give her one on an ordinary day, with this type of card, after sharing a kiss.

Her stomach did flips as she purchased the card and gift bag. Once outside, she felt a light drizzle on her face. She really wished she could call on a taxi now, but one look at Carmilla's gift made her puff out her chest and march on.

Laura was halfway home when she walked a street with a lot of bars and clubs. Her grip on the gift bag tightened, and she put on the toughest face she could manage.

She was almost at the end of the street when bone-chilling howls and mewls pierced the air. The screams of a dozen birds made Laura stop in her tracks. From around the corner a legion of cats and dogs came running down the street while multiple flocks of birds flew above them.

The partygoers all ran inside upon seeing the army of animals flooding the street like an angry mob. Laura ran to the side and hid in an alley as she waited for the animals to pass.

As the last dog scurried away, Laura peaked out from her hiding spot.

The night was suddenly dead and deserted.

She gulped as she realized she had to walk the same street the animals came from to get home. She hoped whatever scared them wasn't there anymore.

The walk felt slow to Laura as she turned the corner and walked the empty street. A groan from an alley caught her attention. It sounded feminine, and as she looked, she saw two bodies on the dirty ground.

They were near clubs and the female seemed to be the one on the ground, so Laura thought the worst.

She quietly put Carmilla's gift down and took out a metal fork from her backpack. She clutched it like a knife and inched closer, ready to injure the assaulter and help the woman.

Then, she accidentally kicked a rock. It rolled just before the assaulter's head.

They looked up.

It was Carmilla.

Her face was covered in blood. Laura looked down and saw the girl's neck gushing out blood in little spurts. Her entire chest and neck were bloody.

Laura couldn't breathe. She felt like someone was choking her because she couldn't scream and she couldn't breathe. She didn't know how long she stood there before she started running.

She ran. She ran harder than she ever had in her life and she couldn't feel the pulling in her chest and neck from running so much until getting home.

She locked the door, locked the windows, checked the door, and checked the windows. The apartment was getting stuffy by the time she jumped into bed, but she couldn't breathe anyway and hid herself under her blanket.

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't breathe because Carmilla Karnstein was a cannibal.


	5. Chapter 5-- Water

Laura flipped open her cellphone. It was four in the morning. She still couldn't sleep.

She was under the covers and she had never been so sweaty and hot in her life. She was sure there was a large stain on her sheets below her now.

When the image of Carmilla's bloody face came back to her like the bad memory it was, she groaned, but it came out as a croak. Her throat was so dry, it felt like splinters when she swallowed. She wondered if running to the kitchen to get a glass of water was worth it, but dismissed the idea at the thought of getting out of bed. Of course, it wasn't like covering herself with her blankets would stop Carmilla from killing her, but it was still a scary idea.

Would she kill her?

They've known each other for years. If Carmilla was a cannibal, Laura would've been cooked in a pot by now. Or was Carmilla saving her for another time?

A knock on the front door interrupted her thoughts. She closed her eyes, but the knocking grew more and more insistent.

"Open up, Miss Hollis!"

It was Mrs. Huang. Laura grabbed the golden dagger her dad bought her for Christmas from under her bed and stalked towards the front door.

She looked through the peep hole and saw Mrs. Huang standing outside in a bathrobe. She unlocked the door, and as soon as she opened it wide, Carmilla stepped into view. Laura almost threw the door closed, but Carmilla stopped it with her fist, which went right through the door. Laura tried to push the door shut, but Carmilla's arm just kept going through.

"God dammit, Carmilla," grumbled Mrs. Huang.

"Why don't you invest in stronger doors, ya' cheapskate?"

"Mrs. Huang, run!" Laura said as she struggled with the door. "Hurry, she's dangerous!"

"Let the door go, girl. Let us in," said Mrs. Huang.

Carmilla took her arm out the door and held it open with her other hand. She pushed until Laura was sliding back. When Laura saw she couldn't win, she jumped away a few feet and showed off the dagger defensively.

"Stay back!" said Laura. "I won't let you hurt me, cannibal!"

"Cannibal?" Mrs. Huang and Carmilla looked at each other.

"I saw you, okay? You were eating that girl!"

Carmilla rubbed her eyes and groaned. "Of course, only you'd come up with something so ridiculous."

"Calm down, Miss Hollis," said Mrs. Huang. "Carmilla isn't a cannibal. She's a vampire."

Laura laughed. "Yeah, sure, and I'm a zombie." She shoved the dagger forward in a show of courage. "I'm not gonna let you throw me off."

She squeaked and stepped away when Carmilla growled and stomped past her. Carmilla punched the wall. Her fist rested above a large crater. As she pulled it back, some parts of the wall chipped off. Mrs. Huang pulled at her hair with wide eyes.

"Carmilla! That's the third time in less than a day!"

Carmilla shrugged and cleaned the white concrete off her knuckles. She looked at Laura, who was trembling in a corner, and said, "See? I'm not human."

Laura looked down and huffed out. Shaking her head, she said, "N-no, no, no. that's impossible." She looked up. Carmilla was standing next to the kitchen. Even with the worn out yellow light, she could see Carmilla's pink-stained cheeks, mouth and jaw. She washed up before coming here, thought Laura, and for some reason, that fact made her believe what she was hearing. But she still held the knife in front of her.

"That girl —"

"She's not dead."

"But I saw —"

"You don't know what you saw." Carmilla inched closer to her. "I promise I'll explain everything, but right now, I have things to do. Can we meet up tomorrow? I can pick you up from work."

Laura lowered the dagger, but she still looked at the distance between her and Carmilla with worry.

"Laura?"

She almost rolled her eyes at how her heart leaped. Putting a hand to her chest, she bit her lip and contemplated Carmilla's offer.

"Is Mrs. Huang a vampire too?" She looked at the elder woman who was still looking at the cracked wall with a frown.

"No. I just brought her here so you would be less afraid."

"How does she know you're… you know."

"I'll explain tomorrow, okay?"

Laura nodded. "… Okay."

"Do you believe everything I said?"

"Yes."

"You won't tell anyone else?"

"No."

"Okay," said Carmilla, scratching her head. "Bye, then… Sleep well." Carmilla and Mrs. Huang walked out of the apartment. A moment later, Carmilla came back carrying Laura's backpack and gift. "You left this on the street by the way. Where should I put it?"

"You can leave the backpack right there," said Laura. She sounded tired and her throat was still uncomfortably dry.

Carmilla gently placed the backpack on the floor. "And this?" she lifted the gift bag.

"That's… actually for you."

Carmilla looked at the gift like it was a difficult math problem. She looked inside and took the gift card out. Despite everything that happened that night, Laura was still nervous as she read it.

Carmilla cracked a smile. "I always knew you were a Hallmark card kind of girl. Thanks, sweetheart."

Laura got the inexplicable urge to ask, "Do you even eat chocolate?"

Carmilla smirked, raised an eyebrow, and Laura couldn't help but feel everything was normal again.

"Tomorrow," she said like a promise, and walked out.

Laura walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Her shaking legs carried her back to her room, where she slid into a cold, wet mattress before leaving to sleep on the couch instead.

# # #

Laura finished her shift and walked out of the family restaurant. Carmilla was waiting outside. When she saw Laura walk out, she stood tensely as she waited for Laura to approach her.

"It's okay, Carmilla. You can get close," said Laura as she walked in the direction of the apartments.

"You sure?" She hesitated, but eventually she walked alongside Laura.

"Yeah, I figured if you wanted to, you could've killed me last night. But, I won't completely trust you until I know that girl is alive."

"Oh, sure, sure," said Carmilla dismissively. "But, don't you have any questions? About me being a vampire, I mean."

"Can you eat chocolate?"

"Seriously?" Laura nodded and Carmilla laughed. "I can eat human food, but I get nauseous after a few bites." Laura nodded again and remained silent. After a while, Carmilla asked, "Anything else?"

"I'm thinking."

"You've got about a hundred vampire myths to debunk and you're thinking?"

"I don't want to make an obvious question like, do you have fangs?"

"I do have fangs."

"See? I want to think of a good one. Um… how old are you?"

"Three hundred thirty four."

Laura stopped and stared. "What?!"

"I'm a vampire," said Carmilla. "What did you expect me to say? Five?"

"I thought you'd be a hundred or so, but three hundred and thirty four?"

Carmilla shrugged and kept walking. "It's not much. I'm considered a teenager in the eyes of other vampires."

"Oh… Is Will a vampire?"

Carmilla made a face. "Yeah. He's eighty seven."

An ambulance sped past them. It made a sharp turn around their street corner.

"So, you're like a teenager, huh? Is that why you're always so grumpy?" Laura got a kick out of how intensely Carmilla rolled her eyes.

They turned the corner and saw the ambulance stopped in front of the apartment complex. Other tenants stood in the parking lot as paramedics carried a body out of an apartment from the first floor. They hoisted it up to a stretcher, and as they rolled it to the ambulance and passed them, Laura stood on the tips of her toes and saw the body of Mrs. Huang. Pale faced and stiff, Mrs. Huang laid on the stretcher as they all watched.

"What happened to her?" Laura asked a nearby tenant.

"Heart attack. Kelly from number twelve was going to pay rent when she saw her on the floor through the window."

Laura hoped Mrs. Huang was okay as the ambulance drove off. Remembering who she was with, she turned and saw Carmilla staring at the ambulance with anger. Her shoulders were tense and her hands were balled into fists.

"They killed her," muttered Carmilla. "They killed her."

"Carmilla?"

Carmilla turned to Laura and gave her the same animalistic look she had before.

# # #

It was tough, but Laura managed to get Carmilla into her own apartment.

Carmilla was having a fit. A quiet one. She wasn't screaming or kicking, but she was red in the face and her eyes were wet with unshed tears. Laura had to pull her to the apartment with all her strength because she was so tense and so unwilling to move, it took her twenty minutes to reach the front door.

Once inside, Carmilla pulled her hair and breathed heavily.

"I'm gonna kill them."

"Carmilla —"

She punched the wall just like she did Laura's wall. She stayed there, fist on the wall, while she calmed her breathing and rubbed her eyes. Laura slowly approached her.

"Carm? Please… what's going on?"

Carmilla took her hands away from her eyes and looked at Laura. Everything on her face was red. Her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, her quivering lips; it was all so strange to Laura, seeing her like that. She would've gone to comfort her in an instant if she didn't know she was a pissed off vampire.

Carmilla straightened up and rubbed her eyes again. "Soo-jin…. Mrs. Huang is dead."

"How do you know?"

"She smelled like it."

"Oh." Laura felt uncomfortable talking about the recently dead Mrs. Hung in front of Carmilla—someone who obviously cared about her—since she didn't know her that well. "I'm sorry… D-did you say someone killed her? Who?"

"Will and… mother." Carmilla said so quietly, Laura had to lean in to hear.

"Who's mother? And did you say Will? As in, your brother Will?" when Carmilla nodded, Laura was more confused than ever. "But how, I mean… Why would he even do that?"

Carmilla gave her a look. It was one she had given her a handful of times when she stared at the bug bites on her upper breast, and it always made Laura's cheeks burn.

"Because I couldn't kill you."


End file.
